State Authorities: Borrowing, Borrowing and Borrowing Some More

The Citizens Budget Commission today released a comprehensive report on the borrowing practices of the state’s public authorities and their subsidiaries, through which state officials issue all sorts of debt to avoid the need to seek public approval and crashing through the official debt ceiling (often referred to as “back-door borrowing”).

The CBCÂ found the debt issued by state and local governments in New York and the 583 authorities they control now totals $227 billion – 73 percent of that, $166 billion – was issued by the authorities themselves.

The report maintains the state’s “extensive reliance on authorities” has given rise to four big problems:

Several of the authorities are infamous for being patronage-ridden dumping grounds where politically connected people earn big money for doing very little. The authoritiesÂ are often referred to as the state’s “shadow government” since they operate largely under the radar screen with little oversight.Â

In recent years there have been numerous authority “scandals,” the most recent of which was the revelation of the New York Power Authority’s annualÂ expenditure of roughly $1 million worth of public funds – without advertising or a formal application process – on projects and venues connected toÂ its employees.Â

NYPA’s largesse included $25,000 for an event called the Congressional Winter Challenge, at which U.S. Rep. John Sweeney, R-Clifton Park, and a host of family, past and present staffers and lobbyists got to play winter Olympian over one January weekend at Lake Placid.